This invention relates to a method and apparatus for forming a shoe shank on the bottom of a shoe insole to stiffen the shank region which extends from the heel breast to the ball region. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for applying, locating, retaining and curing a flexible strip of activatable material, such as a thermosetting resin, directly in situ on the shoe bottom so that the strip may conform to the contour of the shoe bottom and adhere thereto in its stiffened, hardened form. Such strips are described in pending U.S. Pat. No. 4,081,917.
Use of such flexible, in situ-activatable strips to form a shank stiffener solves numerous problems which have been presented in the prior art of shoe manufacture. As described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,081,917 shank stiffeners typically have been inserted in shoes in the form of a stiff wood or steel preformed member. Because of the wide varieties of styles and sizes of shoes, the typical prior practice has been to require the manufacturer to maintain an inventory of a wide variety of different sizes and shapes of shanks. Numerous difficulties have been presented in the storage and proper selection and insertion of such shanks. The present invention relates to a method and apparatus by which a shank may be formed directly in place on the shoe bottom to conform precisely to the insole bottom shape and be hardened in situ thereon by an external stimulus such as radiant energy.